INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
Peace Palace, Carnegieplein 2, 2517 KJ The Hague, Netherlands
Tel.: +31 (0)70 302 2323 Fax: +31 (0)70 364 9928
Website: www.icj-cij.org
Press Release
Unofficial
No. 2011/2
17 January 2011
Jurisdictional Immunities of the State
(Germany v. Italy)
Greece requests permission to intervene in the proceedings
THE HAGUE, 17 January 2011. The Hellenic Re public (hereinafter “Greece”) on Thursday
13January2011 filed in the Registry of the Inte rnational Court of Justice an Application for
permission to intervene in the case concerning Jurisdictional Immunities of the State (Germany v.
Italy).
In its Application for permission to intervene, Greece first sets out the legal interest which it
considers may be affected by the decision in the case: it indicates that “the interests ⎯ even if only
indirect ⎯ of a legal nature of Greece that may be a ffected by a Judgement of the Court are the
sovereign rights and jurisdiction enjoyed by Greece under general international law” and that “[i]t
is [Greece’s] purpose to present and demonstrate its legal rights and interests to the Court, and,
appropriately, state its views as to how the claims of Germany may or may not affect the legal
rights and interests of Greece”.
Greece states further that its legal interest “derives from the fact that Germany has
acquiesced to, if not recognised, its internationa l responsibility vis-à-vis Greece for all acts and
omissions perpetrated by the Third Reich between 6April 1941, when Germany invaded Greece,
and the unconditional surrender of Germany on 8 May 1945”.
In its Application Greece then sets out the precise object of the intervention. It states that
its request has two objects:
“ First, to protect and preserve the legal rights of Greece by all legal means availabThese
include, inter alia, the ones emanating from disputes created by particular acts and the general
practice of Germany during World WarII and the ones enjoyed under general international law,
especially with respect to jurisdiction and the institution of state responsibility.”
“Secondly, to inform the Court of the nature of the legal rights and inrests of Greece that
could be affected by the Court’s decision in light of the claims advanced by Germany to the case
before the Court.”
Greece refers to the fact that Germany, in the Application it filed on 23 December 2008,
requested the Court to adjudge and declare, inter alia, that: - 2 -
“(3)by declaring Greek judgments based on occurre nces similar to those defined... in request
No.1 [in the Application] enforceable in Italy, [Italy] committed a further breach of
Germany’s jurisdictional immunity.”
Greece makes clear that “its intention is to solely intervene in the aspects of the procedure
relating to judgements rendered by its own (domestic...) Tribunals and Courts on occurrences
during World War II and enforced (exequatur) by the Italian Courts”.
Lastly, Greece sets out the basis of jurisdiction which is claimed to exist as between itself
and the Parties to the case. It states that it “does not seek to become a party to the case” and that its
request to intervene “is based solely and exhaustively upon Article 62 of the Statute of the Court”.
History of the proceedings
On 23December2008, the Federal Re public of Germany instituted proceedings before the
International Court of Justice against the Ita lian Republic, alleging that “[t]hrough its judicial
practice... Italy has infringed and continues to infringe its obligations towards Germany under
international law”.
In its Application, Germany states inter alia:
“In recent years, Italian judicial bodies have repeatedly disregarded the
jurisdictional immunity of Germany as a sove reign State. The critical stage of that
development was reached by the judgment of the Corte di Cassazione of
11 March 2004 in the Ferrini case, where [that court] declared that Italy held
jurisdiction with regard to a claim . . . brought by a person who during World War II
had been deported to Germany to perform forced labour in the armaments industry.
After this judgment had been rendered, num erous other proceedings were instituted
against Germany before Italian courts by persons who had also suffered injury as a
consequence of the armed conflict.”
The Ferrini judgment having been recently confirmed “in a series of decisions delivered on
29 May 2008 and in a further judgment of 21 October 2008”, Germany expresses its concern “that
hundreds of additional cases may be brought against it”.
The Applicant states in its Application that enforcement measures have already been taken
against German assets in Italy: a “judicial mortgage” on Villa Vigoni, the German-Italian centre of
cultural exchange, has been recorded in the land register. In addition to the claims brought against
it by Italian nationals, Germany also cites “attemp ts by Greek nationals to enforce in Italy a
judgment obtained in Greece on account of a... massacre committed by German military units
during their withdrawal in 1944”.
At the end of its Application the Applicant requests the Court to adjudge and declare that
Italy:
“(1) by allowing civil claims based on violations of international humanitarian law by the German
Reich during World WarII from September1943 to May1945 to be brought against the
Federal Republic of Germany, committed violati ons of obligations under international law in
that it has failed to respect the jurisdictional immunity which the Federal Republic of Germany
enjoys under international law;
(2) by taking measures of constraint against ‘V illa Vigoni’, German State property used for
government non-commercial purposes, also committed violations of Germany’s jurisdictional
immunity; - 3 -
(3) by declaring Greek judgments based on occurre nces similar to those defined above in request
No. 1 enforceable in Italy, committed a further breach of Germany’s jurisdictional immunity.
Accordingly, the Federal Republic of Germany prays the Court to adjudge and declare that:
(4) the Italian Republic’s international responsibility is engaged;
(5) the Italian Republic must, by means of its own choosing, take any and all steps to ensure that
all the decisions of its courts and other judi cial authorities infringing Germany’s sovereign
immunity become unenforceable;
(6) the Italian Republic must take any and all steps to ensure that in the future Italian courts do not
entertain legal actions against Germany founded on the occurrences described in request No. 1
above.”
Germany at the same time reserves the right to request the Court to indicate provisional
measures in accordance with Article 41 of the Statute of the Court, “should measures of constraint
be taken by Italian authorities against German State assets, in particular diplomatic and other
premises that enjoy protection against such meas ures pursuant to general rules of international
law”.
As the basis for the jurisdiction of the Cour t, Germany invokes Article1 of the European
Convention for the Peaceful Settlement of Disputes adopted by members of the Council of Europe
on 29April1957, and ratified by Italy on 29January1960 and by Germany on 18April1961.
That Article states:
“The High Contracting Parties shall submit to the judgment of the International Court of
Justice all international legal disputes which may arise between them including, in particular, those
concerning:
(a) the interpretation of a treaty;
(b) any question of international law;
(c) the existence of any fact which, if establishe d, would constitute a breach of an international
obligation;
(d) the nature or extent of the reparation to be made for the breach of an international obligation.”
Germany explains that, although the case su bmitted to the Court is between two Member
States of the European Union, the Court of Ju stice of the European Communities in Luxembourg
has no jurisdiction to entertain it, since the dispute is not governed by any of the jurisdictional
clauses in the treaties on European integration. It adds that outside of that “specific framework”
the Member States “continue to live with one a nother under the regime of general international
law”.
The Application of the Federal Republic of Germany was accompanied by a Joint
Declaration adopted on the occasion of German-Ital ian Governmental Consultations in Trieste on
18November2008, whereby both Governments declared that they “share the ideals of
reconciliation, solidarity and integration, which form the basis of the European construction”. In
this declaration Germany “fully acknowledges the untold suffering inflicted on Italian men and
women” during World WarII. Italy, for its part , “respects Germany’s decision to apply to the
International Court of Justice for a ruling on the principle of State immunity [and is] of the view
that the ICJ’s ruling on State immunity will help to clarify this complex issue”. - 4 -
By an Order of 29April2009, the Court fixed time-limits for the filing of the initial
pleadings in the case: it set 23 June 2009 as the time-limit for the filing of a Memorial by Germany
and 23 December 2009 as the time-limit for the filing of a Counter-Memorial by Italy.
Those pleadings were filed within the time-limits thus fixed.
On 6July2010, the Court made an Order on a counter-claim submitted by Italy in its
Counter-Memorial. In that Order, the Court, by thirteen votes to one, “[found] that the
counter-claim presented by Italy... [was] inadmiss ible as such and [did] not form part of the
current proceedings”; it unanimously authorized Germany to submit a Reply and Italy to submit a
Rejoinder, and fixed 14 October 2010 and 14 January 2011, respectively, as the time-limits for the
filing of those pleadings.
Those pleadings were filed within the time-limits laid down.
The subsequent procedure has been reserved for further decision.
___________
The full text of Greece’s Application for permis sion to intervene will be available shortly on
the Court’s website (www.icj-cij.org).
___________
Information Department:
Mr. Andrey Poskakukhin, First Secretary of the Court, Head of Department (+31 (0)70 302 2336)
Mr. Boris Heim, Information Officer (+31 (0)70 302 2337)
Ms Joanne Moore, Associate Information Officer (+31 (0)70 302 2394)
Ms Genoveva Madurga, Administrative Assistant (+31 (0)70 302 2396)
Jurisdictional Immunities of the State (Germany v. Italy) - Greece requests permission to intervene in the proceedings